


as the leaves fall

by emrys (livingshitpost)



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Altered Mental States, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alzheimer's Disease, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Character Death, Child Death, Deathfic, Gen, Illnesses, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jack Frost's Sister (Rise of the Guardians) is Called Emma, Major Illness, Memories, Memory Loss, No Incest, No Romance, Past Character Death, Past Lives, Post-Canon, Protective Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Recovered Memories, References to Illness, Reincarnation, Sibling Love, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 14:58:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17082494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livingshitpost/pseuds/emrys
Summary: A Guardian's connection with their first Believer is incredibly strong in times of need.





	as the leaves fall

Jamie Bennett sits by his little sister's bed. Her blonde hair lies limply around her face as she talks animatedly about something he doesn't understand. She bursts into a coughing fit as she pauses to catch her breath, and he squeezes her hand gently. He glances out the window. The grey sky stretches on for miles and the trees are very nearly bare. 

"I wish you were here," he breathes. 

* * *

Jack pauses as he flies over a city. He glances around, lowering himself, and peeks through the windows of the children's hospital. He leaves tiny vines of ice on the windowpanes as he passes by. He isn't sure what he's looking for, exactly.

And then he sees a boy - almost a man, actually - staring at him.

"Jamie?"

* * *

He assures his sister he'll be right back before going over to the window. 

"Jack?"

Sophie perks up when she hears his name. "Jack!"

Jamie tenses and nods. "Yeah, Sophie, it's Jack." He breathes on the window so he can write on the glass.

_wht r u doin ?_

Jack shrugs. He motions to Sophie, still lying on her bed, but calling out for him over and over again with her hands extended.

Jamie is about to start writing on the window again when he hears Sophie grunting as she tries to get up.

"Sophie!" He rushes over and tries to push his sister back down onto the bed.

She struggles under his grip. "Jack!"

"Sophie, you gotta stay in bed. You're not gonna get better if you keep doing stuff like this, okay?"

"Jack!" She continues to push herself up, looking excitedly to the window. "Jack! Jack!"

Jamie sighs as their mother entered the room from where she'd been speaking with a doctor in the hallway. "What is going on in here?"

"She wants to-" Jamie quickly bites his tongue. "I think she wants to go out in the snow."

"Absolutely not," their mother replies. "She needs to stay in bed. She won't be able to handle the cold."

"Jack," Sophie cries impatiently, pointing to the window, "Jack!"

"Mom, she's not gonna make it in bed either."

"James!"

"Jack!"

"Mom-"

"That's enough out of you, Jamie, don't make me have them remove you from the room."

"Jack!" Sophie had begun to squirm her way out of her brother's grip and stumbles out of bed. "Jack!"

Jamie quickly scoops her up in his arms and holds her gently to his chest. "It's okay, Soph, you're gonna be fine." He turns back to his mother. "Mom, I know you don't wanna accept it. But she  _needs_ this." He adjusts his grip so she can stand a little straighter. " _Please_ , Mom."

"No! This is crazy, she's not even lucid. She doesn't know  _what_ she wants, much less what she  _needs_."

"I know she's not lucid, Mom; she's talking to  _nothing_." (He feels a pang in his chest as he said it, but continues anyway.) "But she hasn't been lucid in weeks. This is the most energetic I've seen her since she got put in this fucking place!"

"Jamie, so help me God-"

"She's  _dying_ , Mom. And I know it's hard. She's not _just_ your daughter. She's my little sister, and I just wanna keep her happy and safe." He wipes his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket. "If we can't save her, the least we can do is let her be  _happy_."

Their mother is silent for a moment. She approaches her children, slowly, and cups her daughter's face. "Sophie?"

Sophie looks up at her mother with no sign of recognition in her bright green eyes. "Jack?"

Their mother lowers her head for a moment, sniffling. "No, honey." She looks up again in earnest. "It's me. It's Mama. Do you remember me?"

Sophie seems to think for a moment, then shakes her head. "'M sorry."

She sighs, almost laughing. "It's okay," she says softly. "D'you really wanna go outside?"

Sophie looks back to the window and points outside, then turns to her mother. "Jack."

Jamie turns to the spirit waiting outside the window and gives him a look.

 _Meet us there_. 

* * *

Sophie curls into the big coat draped around her shoulders as she's wheeled out into the courtyard. Snowflakes land on her eyelashes as she looks up at the sky. "Jack," she says softly.

"Yeah, kiddo, it's me." Jack lands quietly beside the girl. He exchanges a look with Jamie. "You're nearly as tall as I am now, huh?"

Jamie shrugs. "Guess so," he says quietly. "It's only been six years."

"I mean, yeah, but still. You're like a giant."

"That's rich, mister six-foot-two."

"Now that is just Hurtful, Jamie Bennett. I expected better from you." He ruffles Sophie's hair. "How're you doing, kid?"

She hums contentedly, but shivers at his touch.

"She's sick," Jamie says softly. "Like,  _really_ sick. I don't . . ." He sighs. "You know."

"Yeah, I do." He lets Sophie hold his hand. "Seen a lotta that over the years."

"Mmm." He looks down to his sister. "The doctors say she doesn't have much longer. She can't stand on her own anymore. She barely talks, and when she does, it's mostly just gibberish." He sniffles and sighs. "But she always remembers you. Sometimes she thinks I  _am_ you."

Sophie holds the back of Jack's hand to her cheek.

"They're saying she has early onset Alzheimer's on top of everything else. It's all just getting worse. I don't- I don't know-"

"Hey. Hey, Jamie. Hey." He rests his staff against Sophie's wheelchair and grabs Jamie's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay."

"I'm scared."

"I know."

"Jack?"

The boys turn to Sophie, who's no longer smiling as she looks back at them.

"Yeah, kid?"

"D'you remember that story that Father used to tell us? About Mother Nature and her two lovers, the Kings?"

Jack turns to Jamie. "Is she-"

"She never knew our dad. He died a few weeks after she was born."

Jack blinks, kneeling down in front of Sophie. "You mean the one about how every year, on the solstice, one of the kings would be reborn and the other would die?"

Sophie nods. There's a sad look in her eyes.

"I think I'm the Oak King, Jack."

A lump rises in Jack's throat. "Sophie, how do you-"

"We all know I'm gonna die soon, Jack, don't play dumb with me." She smiles a bit. "It's kinda funny, actually. I've done this before, but . . . I'm still scared."

Jack ttakes her hands.

"What do you mean, you've done this before?"

"Jack, sometimes you're still just as dumb as you were back then." She shrugs off the thick coat and smiles. "It's me, don't you remember?"

He turns to Jamie again. "I . . . I don't-"

Her smile falls. "Do you really not know who I am?"

Jack gets on his knees and inches closer. His nose is almost touching hers.

". . . Emma?"

She grins. "I knew you'd remember eventually." She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him close. "I'm sorry you died."

Jack awkwardly hugs her back, casting a confused look up at Jamie. Ice crystals bloom in the corners of his eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't remember you."

"Soph- Emma-"

"Thank you for saving me."

"Emma, I don't-"

"Just- be quiet, okay?" She releases him and holds him at arms' length. "I thought about you all the time." She rubsher eyes with the heel of her hand. "I'm so happy to see you again."

"Sophie?"

She turns around to face her brother.

"I'm sorry, Jamie. I didn't mean to scare you and Mama."

"So- so you  _do_ know who I am?"

"Now I do, yes. Before I had too many memories and they were all getting mixed up, but now they're all kinda fixed?" She shrugs. "They just started coming back one day."

"Sophie . . ."

"Don't worry, I'm okay. I'm still your little sister." She puts a hand on one of his. "Thanks for getting Mama to let me out here."

"Of- Of course, I mean- I just-"

She laughs a bit, but quickly falls into a coughing fit.

"Hey, don't- don't overexert yourself," Jack warns. "You two should probably go back inside."

"No!" She manages to get herself under control. "No, I wanna stay out here. I wanna stay with you.  _Both_ of you. You're both my brothers." She adjusts herself in her seat. "Can you help me stand up?"

"Sophie-"

"Jamie." She looks at him long and hard. "Please."

He waits for a moment, then sighs, coming from behind the wheelchair to take her left hand while Jack took the right. She takes a deep breath as she steadies herself and takes a few steps forward with their help.

"D'you guys think I'll have to do this again?" She stops beneath the huge cherry tree. "Be reincarnated, I mean?"

"I dunno," Jack replies as he and Jamie help her sit down on a bench. "The Man in the Moon's a weird guy."

"I think I'd like to come back," she muses. "There's so much I never got to do. I only made it to eight this time!" She forces a laugh, but it fades quickly. "And I'd miss you guys if I never got to see you again."

A moment of quiet passes between the three of them.

"Are you sure about this, Soph?"

She nods. "Yeah." She takes Jamie's hand. Although her grip is weak, she holds on as tightly as she can. She extends her other hand to Jack, smiling when he takes it. "I'm glad I got to be your both of your sister. Sisters?" She thinks it over for a second before shrugging. "Whatever. I'm just so grateful you're both here for me."

"Of course, Em; I'm not gonna leave you again."

"I know, Jackie. Thank you." She coughs a few more times. "Can you tell me a story?"

"I, uh- I-I don't-"

"It doesn't even have to be a story. Just keep talking. Please."

"Okay. Um, uh-" He lets out a shaky sigh. "I . . . I will watch over the children of Earth; guide them safely from ways of harm; keep happy their hearts, brave their souls, and rosy their cheeks. I will guard with my life their hopes and dreams, for they are all that I have, all that I am, and all that I will ever be."

She sighs happily. "What was that?"

"It's the oath I took when I became a Guardian."

"It's nice." She closes her eyes. After a few moments of silence, her smile falls. 

Jack sighs, kissing her forehead and pulling Jamie into a hug. 

"She's gone," Jamie breathes. It isn't a question. 

"Yeah," Jack replies. "Yeah. She's gone."

Jamie sighs and buries his face in Jack's hoodie. "Thanks for being here."

"Hey, don't sweat it.  _I will watch over the children of Earth_ , remember?"

Jamie nodded. "Thanks."

They sit there for a little while more as the leaves fall around them. 


End file.
